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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Gluten Free Dining: Farro Ristorante

Last night, in celebration of passing my thesis defense, we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Farro Ristorante. The restaurant is the perfect date-night place, with a sophisticated ambiance and an extensive menu of mouthwatering food. I was a bit nervous about bringing an almost three year old in, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the restaurant is family friendly. The waiter brought my son a small colouring book when we arrived, and they had high chairs and booster seats available.

Normally, Italian food is a gluten-filled minefield, but not at this restaurant.

Farro makes pasta in house, and they have gluten free pasta available. They also make gluten free pizza, which is what we ordered for my son. The gluten free didn't come in kid size, but I didn't mind. We packed up what my son didn't finish and brought it home.

How was the pizza? Fantastic. It was thin crust, with an authentic pizza texture to the crust. I would say that it was the best gluten free pizza I've ever tried. My son agreed, as he gobbled down three and a half slices!

We ordered a simple Margherita pizza for him, but since they have an extensive pizza menu, we really could have chosen from several pizzas. Ditto for the pasta dishes. And since our son was so engaged with his pizza, my husband and I enjoyed our meals drama free.

My husband ordered Tuscan bean soup to start, followed by bacon wrapped pork medallions with grilled vegetables. I ordered a mixed green salad and the Gnocchi Gorgonzola with spinach and sun dried tomatoes. We would have had dessert, but it was getting late and my son had started rubbing his eyes, so we passed.

On our way out, I noticed that the restaurant has a small section at the back where they sell some specialty food products, including gluten free pasta.

I really enjoyed our dining experience at Farro. It's not a cheap restaurant, but the prices are reasonable for the quality of the food and the dining experience that the restaurant provides. They also offer take-out if you call and order in advance, which is a great option for my family.

This is a restaurant that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys good food, and wants more than one gluten free option to choose from. It's perfect for a date night, a family function, or just an impromptu dinner to celebrate something special.

My only suggestion for the restaurant would be to advertise their gluten
free items outright on the menu. They have a mention of spelt pasta,
but no mention of the gluten free options. I think that they could
bring in more business if they did.